Members of the House legal affairs committee on Wednesday discussed a European Union directive which sets minimum rules on the tracing, identification, freezing, confiscation, and management of assets of illicit origin across the bloc, and were keen to stress the importance of the directive in the fight against organised crime.

“We consider it to be one of the most important tools a state can have at its disposal to combat organised crime,” committee chairwoman and Disy MP Fotini Tsiridou said after the committee session.

She said the directive “provides for a competent asset recovery agency and cross-border cooperation with other member states and European bodies, expanded forms of asset confiscation, including extended-term confiscation and confiscation without conviction within the context of a criminal organisation”.

“Even without a conviction, a person’s property, such as unexplained wealth linked to criminal behaviour committed within a criminal organisation, can be confiscated,” she said.

Additionally, she said, the directive provides “mechanisms for the effective management of frozen and confiscated assets”, as well as “the establishment of an asset management service, including the possibility of the sale of frozen assets”.

“The bill strengthens procedural safeguards and the rights of affected persons,” she said.

Cyprus has until November 23 to implement it

The directive was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in 2024, and as such, the Republic of Cyprus and all member states are treaty-bound to transpose it into domestic legislation before November 23 this year.

When it was passed by the European Parliament, only one of the six Cypriot members voted.

Independent Demetris Papadakis, who had been elected in 2019 on Edek’s ticket, voted in its favour, while Disy’s Loucas Fourlas and Eleni Stavrou, Akel’s Giorgos Georgiou and Niyazi Kizilyurek, and Diko’s Costas Mavrides were not present.

The parliament said at the time that “the confiscation of criminals’ illicit profits is considered an effective tool in the fight against organised crime, identified as a major threat to EU security”.

Meanwhile, the Council of the EU said that the directive “will better equip member states in their fight against organised crime and the associated illegal profits”.

“It will also oblige EU countries to ensure that authorities have the resources they need for their activities,” it said, before also adding that the rules will allow for assets to be seized in cases of the violation of international sanctions.

It said that following the implementation of the directive, “asset recovery offices, in charge of cross-border operation, will be reinforced”, and that they will “support national authorities and the European public prosecutor’s office in asset tracing investigations”.